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24—SATURDAY Vanguard, JANUARY 18, 2020 Man escapes with lover’s car during cross over service •I intended to sell the car, travel out —suspect By Evelyn Usman C ross over service, held on the last day of the year in virtually all churches in Nigeria and across the globe is usually characterized with a huge turn out , as most attendees, use the opportunity to appreciate God for seeing them through the challenges of the outgoing year. To some worshipers, it is the only day they set their feet in church. The atmosphere at Our lady of the Apostle church in Lakwe, Ajah area of Lagos, was not different on December 31, 2019. Among the worshipers were an intending couple who drove to the church in their Toyota Corolla car , valued at N3.2 million. While service was ongoing, the man, Uche Ayahbalu , 41, walked out, informing his lover that he was going to listen to a radio programme inside the car . Having waited without seeing him , she went outside on what could have warranted the delay, only to discover that he had driven away in her car! Brags Effort to reach him on the phone failed as it was discovered to have been switched off. It was gathered that when she eventually got him on the fifth day via his mobile phone , he bragged that she should not bother to look for him or invite the Police, that nobody would be able to get him where he was. But on the directive of the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Police Command, CP Hakeem Odumosu, operatives of the Special Anti- Robbery Squad, SARS led by the Officer-in- Charge, CSP Peter Gana, tracked the suspect to his hideout in a hotel near Ikorodu, where he was found sleeping, awaiting the return of the receiver of the car with some cash. Complaint Crime Guard gathered that one Kamoru Abolarin, whom the fleeing lover allegedly connived with to abscond with the Toyota Corolla, was first arrested before the Anambra-state born main suspect. At the time of the arrest, the stolen vehicle was discovered to have been used as a collateral for N1 million loan. Confession However, during interrogation, Ayahbulu, disclosed that the car was driven to Ibadan, Oyo state capital with the intention to sell but that buyers approached were skeptical . He said, ”The lady in question is my wife”. But his claim was described as untrue by the lady who claimed they were not married yet. When asked if he had done the necessary rites, he said, “ I have only done the introduction”. Explaining how he moved the car, he said, “ We both went to church for cross over service, on December 31, 2019, from there I called Kamoru Abolarin (pointing to his partner in crime ). I took the car and drove off to Ibadan but couldn’t sell it after four days because buyers approached said the names on the particulars were not same as mine, even when I tried to convince them that it belonged to my wife. At a point, I told Abolarin that if we didn’t get any buyer ,I would return the car. We later got the contact of one Jaji, in Ikorodu . We drove back to Lagos but when we got there, he (jaji) said he would pay N1.5 Million but I insisted it was N1.7 million”. Double standard He stated that when the buyer could not pay the amount, he begged him to give him a loan of N1.1 million , with an agreement to leave the car with him as collateral, pending when he would pay back. But the supposed buyer, Jaji, lodged Anyahbalu in a hotel in Ikorodu, with a promise to get the requested loan. He (Jaji) reportedly took the Toyota Corolla car to a money lender , where he collected a loan of N1 million but collected N500,000 out of it. Unfortunately for Anyahbalu , he was yet to receive the money , before he was arrested. Why I did it Asked why he chose to steal the car, he replied, “ I took the car because I didn’t like the way my wife used to act. For instance, if I called her while she was at work, she would not call me with endearment words like honey or darling because she is with a man. I have even caught her with men at different occasions and this has been on for over one year. “ Again, I did it out of frustration and anger, as I had made up my mind never to go ahead with the marriage. My intention was to sell the car and travel out of the country. I intended to travel to Dubai and from there, cross over to Canada. I also had the intention of buying her another one, had the plan succeeded “. Partner in crime On his part, his partner in crime, 25- year-old Kamoru Abolarin, admitted to have been invited by the main suspect . Abolarin who hails from Osun state, said, ” He invited me to come and drive the car for him , from the church . I am an electrician and also a driver. When I got there I knew he wanted to steal the car and I told him it was wrong. But he told me he would replace it with a better one when he got abroad. I regret my involvement”. The suspects according to the By Evelyn Usman Twenty-nine-year-old Ayodeji Bakare, an indigene of Osun state , was arrested on January 4, 2020 by the Police in Lagos, following a foiled attempt by members of his gang to escape in a vehicle snatched from its unsuspecting owner in Aguda, Surulere area of the state . The gang which operated on a motorbike had intercepted the undisclosed motorist at about 1.30am and fired some warning shots which compelled him to surrender his car keys . However, while the four-man gang was escaping in the stolen Toyota Corolla car, they stopped to search it for any valuables, only for a team of patrol policemen to accost them. Crime Guard gathered that the Police team first asked the hoodlums the name of owner of the vehicle, only to discover that the name they mentioned did not tally with that on the vehicle’s particulars. When it became glaring that their game was up, others , managed to escape , leaving Bakare at the mercy of the policemen. A locally made gun, an expended cartridge and six unexpended ones were recovered from him according to the Police. Preliminary investigation revealed that Bakare , had just returned from prison , over a similar incident. In this interview with him, he opened up on his gang’s modus oprandi, its choice cars, areas of operation and his role during operation. He said : “ I got this gun, ( pointing to the recovered gun) from one of the receivers of the stolen vehicles. He gave me on December 13, 2019 to get him cars for him. We are a gang of four . We snatch vehicles , especially Totoya and Honda products. We also collect •Uche Ayahbalu (l) and Kamoru Abolarin Confession of a car snatcher: I’m a philanthropist, We go for Toyota and Honda vehicles •Our targets are clubbers around Surulere, Ajah •Vehicles with tracking devices are difficult to sell •Ayodeji Bakare Command boss, CP Odumosu , while parading them at the command’s headquarters during his maiden press briefing, warned robbers to leave the state for good or have same fate befall them. victims phone, jewelries and cash. We operate on okada, around Surulere , Aguda and Ajah, as from 12 midnight till day break. We attack people who park to ease themselves and those returning from clubs. We do not have any particular person in mind but as long as the vehicle is what we want, we go for it. ” Two members of the gang are usually armed during operation: myself and another . Immediately we sight anyone easing himself, I would release some shots to scare him while others would ask him for the car keys. Immediately, the car would be driven to a designated place from where the receiver would come for it. I was doing it before but stopped when I was arrested. I spent three months in prison before I was released. I came back in March. Since I came back, I have stolen seven cars . This would have been the eight car, had we succeeded “ The receiver gave us between N50,000 and N100,000 , at the end of each operation. At times he would not give us anything, especially if the vehicle has a tracking device . this is because the police could track it to where it is parked. For such cars, we would abandon them on the road and collect only the valuables in them”. Mother’s position Asked what he spent his share of the loot on, he replied, “ I am a philanthropist in my own little way. I give money to housewives whose husbands are jobless in my area at Oyingbo. I also share it among children whose parents are too poor to buy them books to school or feed them when going to school. They do not know what I am into. But my mother would never collect a dime from me, even when I offered her. She would always ask where I got the money from because she knew what I was doing. She has never asked me to leave her house because I live with her but she would always beg me to leave crime . I wish I listened to her. If given a second chance, I will turn a new leaf”, he said. M Wi by •How I fo When 3 mum 13, 2 little did she carrying out This is bec of her blood street, Ijan surroundin unraveled by Crime Gu popular cha Amosu Igbo her children the worst wh
SATURDAY Vanguard, JANUARY 18, 2020—25 •The building ( scene of the incident ) urder at dawn! ow hacked to death unknown assailants und my mother in the pool of her blood dead- bereaved teenager By Esther Onyegbula •Ifedayo Same evil spirit that confused my father has destroyed me •Domestic worker who stole in Lagos, arrested in Benue Operatives f the Special Anti Robbery Squad, SARS of the Lagos State Police Command have arrested a fleeing domestic worker who stole the boss’s vehicle and other valuables, in Lekki area of Lagos. During preliminary investigation, the suspect, Nicolas Ifedayo , a Ghanian , who was arrested in his hideout in Benue State, was discovered to have also stolen his Nigerian girlfriend’s Subscriber Identity Module SIM card , from 8-year-old Tolami, popularly known as my Onyinda woke up on Monday, January 020, to get her children ready for school , envisage that would be her last time of such responsibility on them. use hours later, she was found in the pool , right inside her apartment at Sanni Alaso ikin, Ojo, dead. The circumstances g the gruesome attack are yet to be the Police. ard gathered that the mother of three and rcoal dealer, usually left for her shop at ro, Alasia area of Ijanikin, after preparing from school. However , no one suspected en she was not seen on Monday as some which he withdrew all the cash , via mobile transfer. Vanguard gathered that his boss, a female lawyer (names withheld) told all her staff to go on vacation, on December 24, 2019 and resume in January 2020 but that Ifedayo, the private guard, insisted he would stay back. Unknown to his boss, he had duplicated keys to some of the offices. Next day, (November 25,2020) he zoomed off in his boss’s Honda jeep with plate number AKD 787 BB , loaded with some power generating sets, refrigerator , laptops and other valuables. He was however tracked to Ipelo village in customers who came to patronize her assumed she could have gone to purchase more charcoal. Her eldest child, Oyinda, who is preparing to write the West Africa Examination Council, WAEC , was usually the first to join her mother in the shop whenever she returned from school. She would be joined with her siblings, who would leave for home with their mother at the close of the day. Discovery However, when she came to the shop that fateful day and did not see her mother, she put a call through to her on her mobile phone but there was no response. Narrating how she discovered the unexpected to residents, she said, “ When I could not reach my mother on her phone, I called her friend who also sells charcoal, at Adams street to know if she was Ogbadigbo Local Government Area of Benue State, on January 8, 2018. The suspect who was paraded by the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Police Command, CP Hakeem Odumosu, at the command headquarters, Ikeja, alongside other robbery suspects arrested by the Lagos State Police Command, stated during interrogation that an evil spirit was responsible for his action. He said , “ I was employed in August, 2019 and was paid N30,000 monthly. I don’t know what came over me. I have been working for four months . It is not my fault. An evil spirit is tormenting me. It was after I did it that I realized I had made a mistake. That same evil spirit prevented my father from training me in secondary school, as I was forced to drop out of school in Junior Secondary School 3. I went into wielding but could not raise money to buy the tools needed for the job. “I drove straight to Benue state, my mother’s village , where I sold some of the things. My father is a Ghanaian but I was born and raised here . I stayed back in my mother’s village with the intention of starting a new life, only to be arrested by the Police”. Asked how he withdrew money from his girlfriend’s account , he replied, “ Her SIM card has been with me because she did not have a phone , she was using mine. On the day I was leaving, I told her to wait for me in my apartment at my work place on the day I left with the vehicle. I gave her N4,000 but did not tell her I won’t be coming back. I bought recharge card worth N28,000 from her account. I am sorry for everything, it is not my fault” , he said remorsefully. CP Hakeem Odumosu, therefore, advised Lagosians in particular and Nigerians in general to always ensure they check the profile of their domestic staff with the Police before engaging them. He informed that the suspect would be charged to court. with her but she said no. At that point, I became worried because her phone rang severally without response. I reached a couple of other persons on phone to ask if they had seen my mother but they all said no. I decided to go and check her at home. When I opened the door, I saw her lying on the bed . I raised the curtains up so as to allow fresh breeze in. As I I tried to wake her up, I discovered she was motionless”. She stopped at this point, wailing louder. Residents mourn Residents who were alerted by the alarm raised by Oyinda rushed to their room and parlour self contained apartment to behold the gory sight. One of them who gave his name as Baba Pat, said, “ nobody heard the victim screaming or shouting for help. It is still confusing but I believe that whoever killed her should be familiar to the family”. He therefore, called on government and other relevant agencies to investigate the circumstances surrounding the murder of the mother of three. Another resident, Kayode Bode explained that “ I came back from work and heard the disturbing shout from the building. Immediately, I left my apartment to know what the matter was. I also saw other residents rushing there. We found Oyinda weeping and screaming at the same time. . We were still there in shock when she turned her mother’s corpse and discovered that the bed sheets were soaked with blood. On closer observation, she was discovered to have been stabbed to death with a sharp object.” Another neighbor identified simply as Mummy TJ, explained that the building occupied by the deceased and her children was her late mother’s. She said, “ when her mother was alive, she came to visit her frequently. But five years ago, she lost her husband. That was when she moved in here with her children, until her mother passed on”. Crime Guard gathered that her corpse had been taken to Abeokuta, Ogun state for burial. As at time of writing this piece , no arrest had been made. But residents are full of expectation on the Police to bring perpetrators of the dastardly act to book, or else, the incident may end up among the list of unresolved murders in Nigeria. •The suspects I joined robbers to raise money to buy JAMB form —Suspect Evelyn Usman “This is the least of my expectations for 2020. My crave for education has made me a guest at the Police station. Only God knows where this will lead me to “. These were the words of 22-year-old Afeez Mohammed, a suspected member of a robbery gang that specialized in attacking travelers coming late into Lagos state. He was arrested on January 7, 2020, by a Metro Police team at Abule-Egba area of Lagos. A bag containing a revolver pistol was recovered from him , while two members of his gang managed to escape. One of the fleeing members , Mohammed Kadiri , was arrested next day. He was discovered during interrogation to be a commercial motorcyclist of one of the Bike hailing service operators . Rather than engage in the services of picking passengers who booked online , to their destinations, Kadiri, was discovered to have been working for the gang. In this interview with Crime Guard, he disclosed that he volunteered to work for the gang in order to make up for the amount he owed his company. According to the 30-year-old man, “ I have known Friday ( fleeing gang leader) since last year. He told me to bring his friend, Afeez Mohammed ( pointing to the second suspect) from Ikeja under bridge to Ashade, Guinness road, Agege. When we got there, we met him drinking. When I told him I wanted to leave and pick another passenger, he said I shouldn’t bother, that he would give me money for that day’s job. He told me to take them out on patrol, at Toll gate. “ We left at about 11 pm. They said they were going to wait for travelers returning to the state late. Unfortunately, they did not see any victim that night. On our way back, we were intercepted at Abule-Egba under bridge. When they were beating Mohammed, I ran away . But the police contacted me and asked me to come. I went and handed myself over to them at Oko-Oba Police station. “ I know I have violated my company’s rules. The stipulated time for operation is 10 pm. But I was tempted to stay back because Friday said he would give me N15,000. I just collected the motorbike in November 2019 and I deposited N3000 daily. But I am owing N15,000 and he promised he would clear it for me. I have a pregnant lady at home”, he stated. JAMB form On his part, Afeez Mohammed , said that was the first time he would accompany the gang for an operation. He said, “I knew Friday at Kangagua market. During one of our discussions, I told him to assist me with some money to register for the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB examination and he promised to . On January 4, 2020, he called me on the phone to accompany him somewhere. He said a motorbike rider would come and pick me. But I was hesitant and gave him an excuse . He called again the next day , to inform that the motorcyclist would be coming to pick me. I couldn’t resist the invitation because JAMB registration was to begin in two days . “Unfortunately, I did not get the needed N5000 for the JAMB form as there was no catch. As if that was not enough, I could not escape when the Police accosted us because I did not know the terrain. Friday only gave me a bag to hold but when it was reached by the Police, its content turned out to be a revolver pistol. “ I have never committed such crime in my life. My search for N5,000 to register for JAMB pushed me into this”, he said in an emotionally laden tone.
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